Today was an adventurous day. Bestie wanted to snorkel and we heard that Hanauma Bay is one of the best areas to do that so we headed there. I put in Hanauma Bay into my GPS and we started driving to the south of Oahu. We did very little research beforehand thus we were very surprised when we arrived and found Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Park. First we had to stand in line and buy a ticket to enter the Bay – the admission fee is $7.50 – however it is free for Hawaiian natives. Then we had to watch a 10 minute video on the history of the bay as well as the rules and regulations for snorkeling at the bay. Once all the legal stuff was over we walked down to the beach/bay area to snorkel. We brought a pair of snorkeling gear from the apartment but we also rented some equipment for Doc to go snorkeling as well. As the video suggested you should always go snorkeling with a buddy – we couldn’t send bestie alone therefore Doc decided to go. As Doc and bestie snorkeled I took a ton of pictures and videos of them. They were raving about the snorkeling and all the coral, fish, and sea creatures they saw. They snorkeled for a solid hour and a half. I mostly sat on the beach and listened to music – it was very peaceful and calming.
Hawaii Chronicles – Day 4
We started the day with breakfast at Boots & Kimo’s Homestyle Kitchen in Kailua. They are famous for their Macadamia Nut Pancakes. The sauce they put on their pancakes is the most DELICIOUS thing I have ever tasted. It is crack. Seriously. Doc & bestie ordered some egg omelets and I ordered the Velvet Pancakes – which was basically red velvet cake topped with the macadamia crack sauce! It was divine!
Hawaii Chronicles – Day 3
Big sis & I were up bright and early this morning to head to the Swamp Meet & Marketplace at Aloha Stadium. Background info – my sister loves flea markets and lives for a good bargain! She can bargain for ANYTHING – honestly it should be listed as a special talent on her resume. Therefore she was VERY excited to go to this marketplace. It was a very cool experience because I’ve never been to anything like it before. Picture this: football stadium, outside the arena rows of local merchants selling everything from fruits, jewelry, art, clothes, pastries, souvenirs, soap etc. It was awesome. We got their at around 8am and walked around the entire stadium by 11am – Doc & I are very fast decisive speed walking shoppers. We bought a ton of stuff but we will be back to visit with our Mama when she comes in 2 weeks – because she loves these kinds of places [who do you think Doc got the bargain gene from?].
Hawaii Chronicles – Day 2
Friday December 7 marked the 71st anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Doc’s apartment is literally five minutes from Pearl Harbor therefore I was jolted awake this morning by the sounds of the Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 fighter jets. Needless to say I clearly didn’t go back to sleep and decided to wake up and start google-ing.
I am notorious for having detailed itineraries when I travel of all the sights/activities/restaurants and things I want to do while on my trip. I didn’t have time to create an itinerary before I arrived to Hawaii thus I’m basically winging it. I started out on trip advisor and read about the top 20 things to do in Hawaii. Then I looked for events going on in Hawaii during the month of December. Apparently the Billabong Pipe Masters surfing competition is taking place in North Shore. However due to not large enough waves the competition was on hold! I subscribed to their Twitter/Facebook/Instagram updates and was dead set on finding out when it starts and going to the competition. More on this later!
I’m a big fan of all things pop culture and main stream and made two goals for myself when I came to Hawaii: 1) stalk the cast of Hunger Games since they are shooting in Hawaii and 2) Do all things President Obama does while he is in Hawaii. Goal one is a little difficult to execute because everything is super top secret when it comes to filming….however i have bot given up hope! Goal 2 was easy to gather intel on because anything Obama does is instantly written about. I discovered his favorite snow cone place – Island Snow in Kailua. When Doc came home from her shift I convinced her that we must go – even though it was on the opposite side of the Island. It was well worth the drive!! The staff was super friendly and helped us with our order since we were so overwhelmed with all the options. Doc ordered a fruity watermelon flavor snow cone and I got a coffee/coconut/pineapple flavor.
With snow cones in hand we walked over to Kailua Beach and hung out for a while. All in all it was a great success – I was little apprehensive because I have a tendency to get us lost on out sisterly excursions (Florence, Miami, Madrid to name a few).
After out little field trip we picked up some sushi, came home and had a night in since we have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning to go to the Swamp Meet & Marketplace at Aloha Stadium! Fingers crossed tomorrow the Pipe Masters competition will begin in the AM and we will be heading to North Shore!! Also tomorrow night our dear friend/bestie/travel buddy is coming in from Maryland to stay with us for a couple days – it will be epic and I’m super excited!
Hawaii Chronicles – Day 1
Aloha Hawaii! I arrived in Honolulu and was greeted by my lovely sister with a beautiful lei made of orchids & tuberose flowers that smelled divine! I brought some Nips for my sister because that’s what she likes and I couldn’t just show up empty handed!
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